ESPN broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit felt all the emotions during his postgame debrief with Scott Van Pelt and Chris Fowler after his Ohio State Buckeyes won the College Football Playoff national title.
Monday night’s Buckeyes win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Atlanta caused Herbstreit to tear up while talking about how much the victory meant to him.
“When I call these games I’m incredibly objective,” Herbstreit told Van Pelt. “I love all of these Ohio State teams, but this team because of what they went through to get to this point, you’re just happy.”
Well, this is not something you see every day in the broadcast booth.
Kirk Herbstreit gets emotional on the postgame show.
"When I call these games I'm incredibly objective. I love all of these Ohio State teams, but this team because of what they went through to get to this point, you're just happy." pic.twitter.com/BylD7WBQ3N
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 21, 2025
Herbstreit calling this specific game was always going to be awkward for how much of an outward-facing Buckeyes fan he is. Him calling the game just put him and ESPN in a compromising position from the start, and a moment like this is going to draw some ire on the basis of objectivity.
If you’re a Notre Dame fan, we’d get being very annoyed that one of the game’s broadcasters is in tears of joy over the outcome. It’s a little weird!
However, since we’re not soulless monsters, we won’t be too, too hard on Herbie for being happy over Ohio State’s win.
Feature photo courtesy of ESPN.
